[piosenniel]

‘All my time here, and I had no idea this staircase existed.’ Pio sneezed and coughed, her eyes teary from the years of dust that were layered on the steps, disturbed now and flung into the air as their feet hurried upwards. At the mention of a door being stuck fast, she had grabbed a hammer and cold chisel from the handyman’s chest beneath the bar.

A few more steps brought them to the landing in front of what once must have been the upstairs maids’ bedroom, as the stairs led up a private, narrow staircase near the back of the Inn by which both the second floor guestrooms and the back of the Common Room could be accessed. Cami tried the door handle, and though it turned easily, the door itself would not budge, even though she leaned heavily against it.

Pio stepped forward and wrapped on the door with the head of the chisel. ‘Anyone in there?’ she called. They could hear the sound of several pairs of feet scuffling about on the wooden floor. And two decidedly male Hobbit voices yelled out ‘Yes!’ in unison. ‘Bilbo? Frodo? Is that you?’ asked Cami, barely able to conceal her excitement. ‘Yes, and yes!’ came the unequivocal answers.

‘Stand back, then, away from the arc of the door.’ Pio placed the chisel’s blade between the door and the doorframe, tapping it in with the hammer, forcing the door open, little by little, as she moved up the frame from bottom to top. ‘I thought you said there were three of them coming, Cami.’ she commented as she worked steadily up the frame, her eyes fixed on the slowly widening gap. Cami crouched down beside her, watching the chisel bite into the wood. ‘Well, that’s what I thought from my dream, and Ruby did say there were three gentlemen fussing about behind the door.’

The familiar smell of Longbottom Leaf assailed their noses. And the soft swish of fabric against the floor tickled at the edge of Pio’s hearing. She leaned close to Cami. ‘Someone stands behind us.’ she whispered, leaning close to her friend.

‘Thou hast the right of it, Piosenniel.’ Pio and Cami stood, as one, and turned to face the speaker. He was tall, and cloaked from head to foot in a grey cloak. A long thin pipe sent out a slender stream of smoke from its bowl, the stem of it disappearing into a voluminous hood which hid the man’s face in shadows.

‘And how is it that you know my name.’ she asked.

His slender hands came up from within the folds of his sleeves and pushed back his hood. His hair and beard were silver and his eyes shone blue as the sky, twinkling merrily at the pair of them. ‘You walked once, in my gardens, I think.’

‘As did you. In dreams.’ he said, inclining his head toward the Hobbit. ‘Cami, is it not?’ She nodded and looked inquiringly at Pio.

‘The third visitor, Cami, stands before you. Irmo or Lorien, the Master of dreams and visions.’ The Hobbit stood star struck in the presence of the Vala. Pio nudged her back to reality. ‘Our other two guests are still stuck behind the door. Perhaps we should concentrate on getting them out.’ She picked up the hammer and chisel from where she had laid them on the floor, then smiled and cocked an eyebrow at Lorien.

‘Unless, of course, you would like to lend us a hand.’

He placed his hand against the door and gave it a small shove. It swung open with a groan, and the two Hobbits came stumbling out from the dark, shuttered room, blinking in the light.

[ February 27, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]